Trump Seeks Cuts To Children’s Programs To Pay For Tax Cuts

Nearly 1 in 5 American children live with a family below the poverty line, a number that is not expected to change soon.

An analysis by the Urban Institute released Tuesday found that President Donald Trump is looking to trim the budget in part at the expense of the nation's youngest citizens, reducing funding for children's education and healthcare.

[T]he analysis found that the proposed budget would reduce federal spending on education by 15 percent, children’s health care spending by 10 percent and spending on child-related nutrition by 9 percent.

In order to help offset Republican tax cuts, the budget proposes slashing $140 billion from children's healthcare.

The majority of the changes would be to Medicaid programs, specifically to health insurance coverage for low- and moderate-income children. These projections don’t include a potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act or a funding cut to the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), meaning the monetary impact would likely be much higher.

Also on the chopping block are programs that assist underprivileged and special needs children.

While the majority of education spending is funded at a local level, federal programs aim to upgrade schools, educate teachers and supplement the costs of educating students with special needs. Under the budget proposal, after-hours programs for students in high-poverty and low-performing school would be eliminated, as would programs that educate native Alaskans and Hawaiians.

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. children live with families below the poverty level, and the need for services supporting these children is not expected to decline in the coming decade. Neither is the need for special education services.

Under current law, spending on children’s programs would already face significant cuts over the next decade. When paired with Trump’s proposed budget, school improvement programs would be cut by 74 percent, funding for children’s nutritional programs would be cut by 20 percent and Medicaid spending on children would be cut by 12 percent.

Further, the president and GOP leadership have signaled they will look to 'entitlement reform' next year, hoping to make cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid - all programs that will also affect children.

“When you cut spending on children you’re putting our country’s future economic growth at risk,” said Julia B. Isaacs, author of the study. “You’re undercutting our commitment to helping every child succeed no matter what their background—this is a refutation of the American Dream.”